Nuclear War Only ‘One Tiny Tantrum Away’

Fihn used her acceptance speech to address the escalating aggression between the United States and North Korea, warning that a “bruised ego” could lead to a global “nuclear crisis”, BBC reports.

“The deaths of millions may be one tiny tantrum away,” Fihn said at the Oslo ceremony, stressing that “a moment of panic” could result in the “destruction of cities and the deaths of millions of civilians.”

The constant sparring between US leader Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has become increasingly personal, with Trump calling Jong-un names like “little rocket man.” Just last month, North Korea tested its most advanced missile, capable of reaching the entire continental United States.

Geneva-based organisation ICAN, formed in 2007, has been actively working on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Fihn said the risk of nuclear weaponry usage is “greater today than during the Cold War.” The director added that the outcome was simple: “we have a choice, the end of nuclear weapons or the end of us.”

Nobel committee chair Berit Reiss-Andersen offered a similar warning before the award ceremony, declaring that “irresponsible leaders can come to power in any nuclear state.”